Need help?

If you need help there are a number of organisations that can help.

Also see our Advice and Resources section for more information and advice about internet safety issues.

Reporting

Reporting on social media

Find out more about how to report on the most popular social media apps in our safety tools guide.

Grooming or other illegal behaviour:

If you want to report someone who is behaving suspiciously online towards a child, you should in an emergency contact the emergency services by calling 999, or otherwise make a report to CEOP, the Child Exploitation Online Protection Centre, see www.ceop.gov.uk.

Criminal content online:

Child sexual abuse images: If you stumble across criminal content online, you should report this to the Internet Watch Foundation at www.iwf.org.uk/report. Criminal content in the UK includes child sexual abuse images, criminally obscene adult content as well as non-photographic child sexual abuse images.

Hate speech: Online content which incites hatred on the grounds of race, religion, disability, sexual orientation or gender should be reported to True Vision at www.report-it.org.uk.

Media content inappropriate for children:

If you want to make a complaint about an advert, television or radio programme, film, newspaper, magazine, video game or other type of content that you think is unsuitable for children to see or hear, you can report it through ParentPort at www.parentport.org.uk. Click on Make a Complaint and ParentPort will take you straight to the right place to complain to.

Reporting scams:

If you have been ‘scammed, ripped off or conned’ you can report to Action Fraud online or on 0300 1232040. It is a 24/7 service This service is run by the City of London Police.

Getting help/ advice: for young people

ChildLine:

A free confidential 24/7 helpline for children and young people. You can call 0800 1111or chat online at www.childline.org.uk ChildLine is run by the NSPCC.

O2 & NSPCC online safety helpline

Getting help/advice: for professionals working with children

Professionals online safety helpline:

Helpline operated by the UK Safer Internet Centre offering professionals who work with children across the UK support, advice and mediation with online safety issues. The helpline can be contacted by email: helpline@saferinternet.org.uk or telephone on 0844 3814772 (calls on this number are charged at local call rate).

Department for Education - extremism helpline

Helpline

The Professionals Online Safety Helpline is a unique service for all professionals working with children and young people in the UK with any online safety issues they may face themselves, or with children in their care.